


Elastic

by lazycatwithcoffee



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, AU-ish?, Adulting, Awkward Characters, Coffee, Confessions, Confused Sakura, F/M, Konoha - Freeform, LCWC, Love, Melancholy, Passive-aggression, Romance, Therapy, apologetic sasuke, attempted domestication, honestly more coffee, lazycatwithcoffee, trying to keep it as canon as possible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 16:50:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18608587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazycatwithcoffee/pseuds/lazycatwithcoffee
Summary: i have no idea what im doing but heres a shitty read





	Elastic

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what im doing but heres a shitty read

He'd only been home a whole two weeks.

Sakura had counted the days down to the minute and then the second. Sasuke had been discharged from the hospital indefinitely and she held her breath in the streets of Konoha; she hoped there would be moment where they ran into each other—literally, or not, she didn't care. The woman awoke to butterflies and syrupy emotions. Today, Naruto had informed her, cheerily, that Sasuke had bought a place deep in the growing market place near the more western area of Konoha, almost directly beneath the first Hokage's rock monument. She allowed herself alleviation of duty from the hospital early, took a shower and changed into something light. Outside it was hot and humid and Sakura's hair became thick and curled subtly at the ends, her tresses framed her face naturally and made her seem endlessly delicate (though she remained proudly solid). She was headed towards the innermost area of Konoha, Kimora, when she caught a glimpse of herself. Light, blue fabric encased her long legs; she had rolled the pant legs to have her ankles appear smaller—not that they needed to—and her midsection peeked out beneath a thin white, sleeveless blouse. The top was cut deep and delved into the valley between her breasts where a light sheen of sweat glistened in the beating light of the sun. She skipped a bit, just barely visible to an elderly shopkeeper who smiled at her, and the heels of her sandals clicked against the tough sanded streets. This was good, she thought to herself. It wasn't often anyone was caught in casual apparel, typically working villagers wore some variation of something worn the day before, or just washed the same thing. She liked the soft feeling of civilian clothing, it made Sakura feel dainty and fragile.

She wondered if Sasuke would don his usual garbs even within the thresholds of normalcy, maybe he had a taste for a break considering the prison time and rehabilitation he'd just finished doing. 

Kimora was ridiculously crowded. Sakura stopped just outside the inner-village and watched hoards of villagers flock a few streets down. Here the buildings were tall with windows of various sizes, and even from where Sakura stood she could see the huge overhang of the Canopy Marketplace ceilings, the place where Naruto had very clearly specified their old team member had chosen to reside. It had only been discussed briefly because Shikamaru was very concerned about Sasuke's personality and his newfound niche being anything but synonymous. Naruto, of course, had displayed a cheek-to-cheek grin and chided,

"He's fine, it's totally like him. It's easier to blend in where there's more people."

Which was very profound and true.

Sakura and Shikamaru had been rendered rather speechless—Kakashi sat at the Hokage's desk unbothered and slightly uninterested in Sasuke's whereabouts, as the blonde had proven yet again that he knew the Uchiha best.

She had stopped and bought a crepé, a delicious desert from a country far north and a village unbeknownst to most in Konoha, including Sakura. It was a flaky, creamy and sweet kind of pastry, Sakura decided. She had maybe a mile worth of walking left to do, might as well eat too. She imagined scripted scenarios in her head, ones with Sasuke being not-so-Sasuke like—he would approach her and ask her how her day was, or smile, or something that would have her attempting to hide her obvious surprise. She wondered too, if maybe her actions were a bit overwhelming (stalker-ish, cause they obviously were) and considered turning back, but hadn't even attempted to slow up her forward pace because the idea of Sasuke Uchiha in clothing that was anything unlike the bullshit Orochimaru had him draped in made her excited. She felt the temperature rising in her cheeks and pulled herself from her thoughts in a peevish attempt at reining in her adultery. Sakura shook her head and ran her tongue against the back of her teeth, reminiscing the last bite of her lemon crepé. She was almost downtown, and was now passing parts of heavily immigrant influenced neighborhoods. She loved it, the culture and the music of places she'd never been to, dipping into a place you've only ever imaged. She was forever bound to the hospital and then village since the last war. She had wandered completely into the Canopy by the time she'd realized she hadn't been paying attention to whatever direction she was going. It was just the beginning but it seemed a few hundred miles in. Sakura stood in the brunt of a thicket of people, villagers from another place, dressed in a neutral tones and displaying different designs painted upon their arms and faces. There was a small band seated at the long steps of an official looking building—their music was welcoming, but nothing she'd ever heard before—they hollered and hooted, banging their wrists into lamb skin drums and shook metal jars together. Somehow, even with the energy they displayed, the music they exhibited was a calm rhythm, sounds that placed her near an ocean, or a river town. Sakura found herself piqued. The kunoichi allowed her body to move with the rhythm, and she peered at the endless things around her.

Canopy Marketplace's name was entirely literal; the desitination itself consisted of several dozen structures, all of which were a few stories high, and all were sheltered underneath a thicket of trees that stood at godly heights. It was noted that as Konoha expanded into its environment the village found more and more ways to exist alongside the greenery the village had taken its name after—Naruto and all his predecessors intended to remain hidden in the leaves. Live lush and feel green, elders would says here. Sakura had traveled down the main road to a branching street, Takeshita, here the roads were thin and bustling stores were crammed upon each other, in between restaurants, she glanced up to see the iron railings of balconies. Somewhere past here Sasuke had purchased an apartment. Through the building and into the distance Sakura could very well see the heads of their former Hokages. Above the streets were just as lively as where she stood, she could hear children laughing, cries of infants, teenagers sneering, shouting, cursing. They skunked about the road, sliding in and out of shadows, there were some wearing bright colors and shorts much too short near restaurant patios and store displays. She'd finished her crepe and dismissed the wrapper in a nearby trash tin. She had stopped suddenly, head snapping upwards—she was being washed in a curtain of chakra, it was dark and heavy, but not threatening. It made her feel indifferent and lazy, but interested nonetheless. 

Was this Sasuke's chakra?

"You've noticed the change in his chakra, right? I think he's at peace with himself for he most part. He's changed things about himself—probably things he never accepted."

"He's still ridiculously dangerous."

"But not to others or himself. If he's not intoxicating himself with foolish thoughts and plans, other people won't become victims of his mentality."

It was conversation she recalled between Ino's father and Kakashi during Sasuke's sentencing. The Uchiha had insisted that he be allowed to travel more but they declined his persistence, instead telling him to stay within the village, wherever he chooses.

Her jade eyes scanned the expanse above her—and, sure enough he was there—encompassed in a green halo against the leaves of the canopy was Sasuke. He stood tall, supported by the stone wall behind him. His building was one of the older looking ones, a dark red with ivy growing up most of the right side, there were double doors leading onto his porch and long chiffon curtains blowing on either side of the open doors from the inside. Sakura blushed; the vision she was seeing was likely regal compared to any other person. Her heart leaped and she let her teeth show beneath her lips, when he noticed her, beaming up at him. He blinked, once, then twice, and retreated into his home. Sakura's mood poisoned. Well, she sighed, seeing him was enough—all handsome and whatnot. It was just a glimpse but she had seen his face clearly and he looked rested, more so than usual. She turned her back to leave and—

"Sakura."

Eep?

She turned around, sheepishly, with an awkward grin, "You're probably wondering why I'm just standing outside your apartment?"

"Visiting?" He said simply, "Naruto has been here everyday since I moved in."

"Awe geez, sorry about that." She said, sucking air between her teeth,

"Just ate all my food, Hinata and Shikamaru send him with meals now."

She was speechless for just a second, "So you're getting real-time Naruto and not a clone?"

"Yeah."

He was answering her fucking questions and not with with strictly single-syllable sounds.Weird.

"I'm surprised you moved into the Canopy, always seemed like you'd be somewhere more by yourself"

He looked at her, then at something behind her, "Yeah... I guess I've had enough of that."

Sakura smiled. She gave him a quick one-over and then straightened up her back,

"Its cooler inside... come on."

His home was authentic and modern. Upon entry was a deep genkan, three or four pairs of shoes were lined up against the wall to the left, and they all belonged to Sasuke. There was a single hallway a few meters long that fed into his living area; he kept the hallway bare and white, the floors were grey, polished stone, and the ceilings were tall. His living room was simple as well, white walls, grey polished flooring, a long brown couch made from some kind of reptiles dried hide sitting upon a huge, pale area rug. There was a marble table that seemed heavy, it had a single photo of his family and some young looking girl. He gestured at the couch as soon as they made it past the foyer, walking inside the back of his couch was directly to her right; she had to clear the length of the couch before taking a seat on it. Here, in the comfortable embrace of the couch she could see directly into his patio, where he stood before. All the doors in his apartment were black and steel, they were tall like the ceilings—she liked that. She squeezed her legs together, played with a small ring she'd slipped onto her pinky this morning. Behind her she could hear him shuffling in his kitchen; she reentered the apartment in her head, genkan, foyer, to the right, the couch and then patio, and to the left, his kitchen. Straight ahead and visible from the entrance was a door closed to even the guests invited into the apartment—maybe his bedroom? Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him, he was standing with his back to her, clad in all black besides his undergarment that peeked bright red back at her. She tucked some links strands behind her left ear and snuck a peak at his kitchen—mostly his ass though. Counter space was all against the opposite wall of the patio, his sink, fridge, and coffee maker. There was a thin island with three barstools and hanging lighting, a single plant, a small bonsai tree, stood proud there.

"Here," he said, barely audible, sliding a glass of bright red liquid her way on the marble table.

"Oh, thanks!" She had to scoot forward and reach over to grab it, she took a sip an managed a glance at him,

"...it's..." he took a deep breath, "its tea. Raspberry tea." He kept his eye on his glass.

"I like it, I haven't had this before and it's so pretty."

He nodded, leaning back into the armchair across from her, on the couch.

"Sasuke this is a really nice place."

The glass was simple and short, thickly blown. The tea was shades of red straight through, much like the building. The ice clanged and echoed against itself and it’s container, Sakura thought for a moment how picturesque it was on such a hot day. Sasuke tipped his own to the side whirling around its contents.

"I have no idea what I'm doing with it."

"Doesn't seem like it." She countered, "Except for maybe this couch. I'm not sure where you're going with a snake skin couch."

"Fucking snakes," he muttered, "Orochimaru gave it to me, figured why not."

Sakura got a cold chill; Sasuke had become completely immune to Orochimaru's history and past intentions. It was his second sensei, she presumed, it was natural for him to receive gifts right? She smiled at him, sweetly as she could.

"That was nice of him. You talk to him often?"

"No." Sasuke grunted.

"Oh..."

"No, he just shows up when he wants."

He was looking at her with calm eyes, his rinnegan completely visible. Matter of fact, Sakura thought, a lot of him was visible. He wore black pants made of a thicker fabric, maybe double layered cottons, and a black, sleeveless, top that pooled behind his neck (a hood). His pants were saggy and he made no attempt at keeping them in place; they had been at the very ends of his hips when he sauntered over with their tea, and his pelvis protruded stubbornly underneath his underwear; a physical indication of strength and leanness. The shirt was somewhat fitted and made his shoulders seem extremely broad—well, maybe that just how she wanted to see them.

He wasn't looking at her now, she sipped the tea, its soft sweetness washing away at her tongue.

His hair was really long too, and it was thick, he kept it in place an elastic headband that was insanely thin. His shinobi headband was tied around the thigh of his pants, he wore the damaged insignia proudly it seemed, and his fam

Attention to detail, she claimed in her mind. The way he smelled of fresh linens, and how she could tell he was burning incense from somewhere inside the apartment, but underneath that it smelled like poppy and lemons (the leaves of the plants of which he was drying by the bundle above his kitchen sink). How he still had circles underneath his eyes, but no longer heavy skin with them. He was trying at conversation—she wondered why that was.

"Are you okay?" She probed, softly,

"Mhmm."

"You're not on a prescription?"

"No." He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

She took a sip of her tea and focused on the white curtains behind him, "You're actually talking to me."

He managed to just barely mask his surprise at her statement, sipping some of his tea too, "Should I not?"

"No, not that at all. You know, you normally just... ignore everyone."

He looked at her Their tea has melted the ice.

"And I'm here sitting in your apartment. Drinking tea. That you handed me."

He was silent, didn't really seem like he was planning on acknowledging her statements. She put her glass down on the marble table, admiring how low it sat to the floor; he certainly had a taste for things most people didn't.

"Smoke and mirrors."

"Huh?"

"Who I was before, I mean, I wasn't really anyone." He put his tea down as well, "I didn't know who I was so I can't speak on the way my actions have changed—," then he cleared his throat, "except for the obvious absence of murderous intent."

She thought for a moment. It had never dawned on her that she might have been incredibly selfish in her feelings for him. They weren't baseless, though Naruto had often called them so, and she wasn't as incredulously misguided as so many others had assumed during their rearing as genin,

"I'm sorry,"

His eyes were wide in that moment, the circles of his rinnegan constricted a bit.

"You're trying so hard, Sasuke. Most of the time I feel like I just tried to push all of my feelings on you and when you didn't reciprocate them I just acted out or bratty—!!"

"No—," he bit out, "no, I didn't ignore your advances, I just didn't know how to do it in a way that you could recognize them..." he put a hand on his face, and his fingers covered every inch of it, "I was a really fucked up kid. There was no saving me. Traveling with Jugo and the others made me realize just how far out I was."

She was trying hard to fight back the tears, "I just wanted to check on you I don't mean to always stress you out when I'm around,"

"I'm not stressed out," he chuckled softly, "well I am. But, not because of you, it's a lot of things."

Sakura smiled at him, yeah fuck, the first tears had fallen and she reached for her tea, the glass cup was just warm now.

"And... I don't know, I can talk to you, Naruto, and Kakashi; however, I'm not sure if I can do anything besides look the rest in the eye."

"They're not upset with you. Especially Ten Ten, she thinks you were the victim of some twisted fate,"

"So does Orochimaru," he laughed coldly,

Sakura grimaced, "Well you're back. Are you staying? For real?"

"Yeah, I'll work with Anbu and probably take the most outstanding missions they offer."

"So you'll be gone but when you're not you'll be here."

"Yes."

"You being even remotely expressive is alien, you've got to be an intruder."

"Mn,"

He smirked at her, and she blushed.

Good god, she fucking swooned.

Outside there was the rumbling of thunder; maybe it had been distant but neither of them heard anything until then. Their conversation had stretched out over the lapse of an hour and a half of pauses and silences, mostly due on the Uchiha's half. Sasuke had thought out all of his replies,

"Rain." He uttered, staring at their empty cups,

"It's getting cold," she turned glanced directly behind him, onto the porch where he had been originally; it's so dark out there what the hell?"

"I spoke to much." He chided,

"You're destroying the fabric of everyday life as we know it, Sasuke."

He smiled and let a laugh grumble from deep within himself, "Sakura..." He stood, "I'm sorry. About everything."

"It happens."

"It shouldn't have."

"A horrible fate." She cooed,

"You and Naruto... always in high spirits."

"I still can't believe you're talking."

He grimaced and collected the glassware, "Staying?

She choked on her original reply: yeah, of course, it should have been, and not her strangled if you'll have me. He blinked and left to wash the cups, standing over the sink for just a second. She wondered what he meant... staying for what? By herself upon the couch she pondered if maybe she was pushing it by lengthening her stay. There wasn't much for them to talk about. She could strike up a conversation but it was more than obvious that Sasuke wasn't afraid to strike down social niceties with single syllable replies and the such. 

"You've been in Kimora since your release?"

"Yeah," he answered, still by the sink,

"What do you do to pass the time?"

"Sleep." He was walking back towards the living room, "and wander around."

"Kimora's really nice, I'd probably walk every day." She tilted her head, allowing her bangs to curtain the most downward facing area of her face to be cloaked by fluffy, pink cascades.

"It is but, for now, I mostly sleep."

He took a seat in the chair ahead of her again and sniffed. Well-rested was an accurate representation of his current demeanor, his guard was completely down (though his chakra was something that couldn't be disguised in casual moments like these) and he seemed more or less indifferent to the consequences (of his past actions) that lay ahead of him.

Outside it had started to rain. Softly at first, and then enough to make him close the patio doors. He pulled the curtains over them, and then the windows, you could still see the blurs of the city lights around them.

"Wait." Sakura had ventured into his kitchen, "You said staying earlier right?"

"Yeah."

"Uh," she cleared her throat; this was going to be interesting. He'd been gone a total of how many years? And only been out of prison and the hospital long enough to buy a place and lightly furnish it. “You mean like overnight?”

He turned just enough to glance at her before turning on the lights in the apartment, “Sure, I mean if you want.” He blinked when they snapped on, it had been pretty dark but neither of them realized. Sasuke was listening to the sound of the electrical circuits, the buzzing overhead while Sakura was preparing for her own mental war.

“You don’t mind?” She hooted,

He raised an eyebrow, “No, why would I? It’s pouring outside too.” Thunder clapped loud and threatening midway into his sentence, reinforcing his statement.

The god almighty.

“I think I’d like that.” She said to him, smiling.

LCWC

They talked.

They talked, and talked.

And then, goddammit, they talked some more.

Sasuke has glanced towards the balcony and stood up to stretch, he was sitting on the floor next to Sakura. He let his head lull backwards onto the couch cushion, his pitch black hair was falling free from the headband,

“It’s almost tomorrow,” he said, closing his eyes, “I’m not tired.”

“Me either.” Sakura said, she wasn’t sure when the apartment had gotten so cold, but it was suddenly freezing and she pulled her legs in underneath her. Sasuke’s claim seemed opposite of his actions to her as well; his eyes closed peacefully, breathing steady and not a single line upon his face.

“I have a TV in my room,” he said, suggestively, “so if you want you can shower and I’ll cook something and go in after you. We can watch something, later.”

She glanced at him.

His eyes were open, but hardly. His pupils were focused on her, dark, black, opaque—much like his hair. He blinked and she admired his lashes that were long and thick like spider legs against his creamy skin.

“Okay, if you don’t mind my intrusion.”

“You’re hardly a burden.”

He was up before her, bracing himself on the marble table. His fridge was unnaturally large, and stocked full of colorful foods. She watched as long as she could before he spoke again, announcing simply: “Washroom is in the bedroom and there are extra towels under the sink.”

The Uchiha’s bed and bathroom were both gorgeous. He kept his spaces clean and tidy, untouched by needless accessories or personalization. Unlike the white walls of the communal areas in the apartment, here they were comprised of sanded concrete and worn brick. His bedroom was even smaller than her’s and consisted of only a bed seated high on its platform dressed in charcoal and white linens. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, shaped like the sun, shooting off rays of warm reddish-orange lights into every corner of the room; on his bed there were files and folders tumbled over themselves. There was no rug here on the polished concrete flooring,it chilled her feet. Two doors guarded by dark mahogany wood hung proud from pulley systems, one a closet, the other his bathroom.

From the entrance, to her left was his vanity, and again the brick wall at the back of the bathroom was the toilet, and an incline introduced by three stairs, wide and somewhat shallow. Here, there was a shower, and a large copper bowl serving as a tub with its faucet hanging over the back end of the bowl all in unison in the ditch.

“Christ.” Sakura wondered how much Canopy Marketplace housing costed.

She removed her clothing leisurely, folded it neatly and placed it by the sink. Sasuke’s linen’s were dark red. She placed her towel by her clothes and entered the shower. Under the cascades of water Sakura imploded.

Him.

His apartment.

His couch.

His bedroom.

His bathroom.

His shower.

His body wash read No. 3, Cyprus Musk, and she was lathered in blue sudsy manliness, it was a sharp natural scent—the kind that fades and leaves its admirers wondering.

Maybe, she wondered, maybe this was him really trying to show her his domestic side; an “I won’t do it again” in the form of odd un-Uchiha-like hospitality. Maybe he honestly just didn’t care that his actions had her baffled. He had talked about Itachi, openly, calmly, and without strain. He smiled, maybe once? It might have been a smirk again honestly.

Maybe, she wondered, maybe he was repenting in the most human way possible—submission.

**Author's Note:**

> should i even continue this, drop the commentos.  
> does anyone know how to proofread and make things grammatically godly? if so hmu on my profile thnx
> 
> i will try to write more, the military has me by the balls though so theres also that
> 
> also i write almost all of my stories on an app, so theres more than just grammatical mistakes. i dont think the italicized or bold texts that i write on my app will appear on archive, so i might lose a certain amount of tone. there are breaks in the story that youll have to realize are there yourself. i try to mitigate that by putting my username [LCWC] where those breaks are. for now, bare with me. i want to give people online more things to read.


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